“We’re at the point of hypothermia, where we have to draw from extremities to protect the core. (If we took more cuts) we’d be talking about amputating the extremities. “

And almost echoing one of her House counterparts, Sen. Sandy Pappas (DFL-St. Paul) voiced concern over the cutting of the $934,000 United Family Practice Program, which is designed to alleviate the shortage of family practice physicians by financially supporting medical residents training in that area:

“It’s unfair to them because (the budget) is not targeting other (similar) programs.”

About the blogger

Alex Friedrich reports on higher education issues for MPR News. Among the stories he has covered: the fall of the Berlin Wall, aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, 2003 Moscow suicide bombing and 2004 presidential elections in the Republic of Georgia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and a master’s in European political economy from the London School of Economics.